U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,207 discloses an electrical connector assembly for flat multiconductor cable, the assembly being of the type comprising an elongate housing having a cable terminating face, an opposed mating face, and opposed endwalls. The housing has a plurality of contacts therein, the contacts having respective conductor receiving portions extending from the mating face in parallel rows. The connector assembly further comprises an elongate cover assembly having latch arms at opposite ends thereof, the latch arms engaging the latch means to retain the cover assembly against the cable terminating face. The cover assembly has a first cable receiving passage therethrough, the passage being intersected by a plurality of apertures which receive respective conductor receiving portions therein, the passage being profiled to align the conductors of the cable with respective apertures.
In some applications, such as communication systems, it is sometimes desirable to tap a peripheral device into the cable of an existing system. However, the cover assembly of the above described connector is of integral construction, requiring that the end of the cable be fed through the first passage prior to termination. A tap connection is thus precluded when there are already connectors installed on the ends of the cable.
In order to prevent cocking or skewing of the cover assembly with respect to the housing during termination, which could result in misalignment of the cable with the conductor receiving portions of the contacts, connectors of the type described above are usually terminated with a press. However, a press is generally inconvenient for field use, as where a home intercom system is being installed or modified. Thus it would be desirable for such a connector to incorporate means for positively aligning the cover assembly with the housing, so that a simple field tool could be used to complete the termination.